Medina Spirit | Horse Racing Free Tips

Calm After the Storm

Baltimore, MD–The leadup to this year's GI Preakness S. has proven anything but routine with news of the Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit (Protonico) testing positive for Betamethasone following his GI Kentucky Derby win two weeks ago. However, just two days before the second jewel in the Triple Crown, the vibe around the Stakes Barns on Pimlico's back side had a decidedly more business-as-usual feel rather than a Classic-week electric charge.

El Camino Real Derby winner Rombauer (Twirling Candy), third in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S., and Keepmeinmind (Laoban), last season's GII Kentucky Jockey Club victor, were among the initial horses to go to the track prior to the renovation break. The bigger influx of stakes contenders appeared when the track re-opened at about 7:45, led the Wayne Lukas-trained Ram (American Pharoah).

“Coming here, you hope to see a good level of energy,” said Lukas. “I'm watching how focused he is and how much energy he has. When you make a nine-hour van ride [from Louisville, Kentucky], you want to see if he is adjusting and to make sure he's eating and that he's showing that on the racetrack. That's my primary concern. I want to make sure he has a good energy level Saturday and I see it increasing every day. Today was better than yesterday, and yesterday was better than the first day. We're in good shape.”

Asked whether his charge's come-from-behind running style was a good fit for Saturday's race, Lukas, a six-time Preakness winner, said, “They often say this race is speed favoring, but I haven't really found it to be that way except for Oxbow [2013 Preakness winner], who took off and they let him have the lead. But overall, I think it's a fair race. The track plays really fair. If you have a good closer or a mid-pack type of horse, I think it's fair for everybody. I don't think you have to have a certain type of horse to win this race.”

Coming out shortly after the morning line longshot, GIII Lecomte S. winner Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) looked a picture of health (hello dapples!) shortly after departing the Stakes Barn, drawing plenty of praise from the small group of onlookers.

“Hey Steve, your horse is my favorite,” yelled a spectator as the colt's trainer, Steve Asmussen, made his way to the track.

“He's my favorite too!,” shouted back the Hall of Famer. “Add my name to the list!”

Most of the morning's attention swirled around the Baffert-trained pair of Medina Spirit, who was the first of the two Bafferts to hit the track, followed by Concert Tour (Street Sense).

Accompanied by Jimmy Barnes astride the barn's pony, the striking Medina Spirit appeared to get over the track very well while held under an easy gallop. About 30 minutes later, barnmate Concert Tour, winner of the GII Rebel S. and GII San Vincente S., was led out to the track by Barnes for some easy maintenance work. Baffert, who has been under fire the past week, is not expected to attend this weekend's race.

Other Preakness contenders sent to the track after the renovation break, GII Wood Memorial S. third Crowded Trade (More Than Ready), GIII Withers S. scorer Risk Taking (Medaglia d'Oro) and Unbridled Humor (Honor Code), runner-up in the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. Both Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher are expected to be on-hand in Baltimore Friday.

Always a big draw in the mornings, bath time for Medina Sprint and Midnight Bourbon, who both appeared in top form, drew a gaggle of media looking for a photo opp. Both colts made a striking impression, not only for their glowing health, but also for their cool and relaxed demeanor in the face of the photo-hungry press.

Noticeably absent from Thursday's a.m. trackwork, France Go de Ina (Will Take Charge) was relegated to walking around the shedrow yesterday following his solo sojourn after losing his rider Wednesday morning. The Japanese-based colt will return to the track Friday morning and is also expected to school at the gate.

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Report: Derby DQ May Come Down To Legal Phrasing

As discussion around Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit's positive betamethasone test continues, the attorney for owner Amr Zedan seems to already be preparing a legal challenge for a potential disqualification.

Kentucky regulations spell out penalties for trainers and for owners following a drug positive, depending on the number and class of drug violations for the relevant licensee. The penalties for owners include disqualification and loss of purse, as well as a potential requirement for horses to undergo further examination or testing before returning to racing.

As explained in the Louisville Courier-Journal, there seems to be some debate about what will happen if a split sample comes back positive. Dr. Mary Scollay, former equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, and Marc Guilfoil, current executive director for the commission, both point out that there is no “mitigating circumstance” language in the owner sanctions for a Class C positive. Stewards are given a range of possible suspensions and fines for trainers with the phrase “absent mitigating circumstances” at the end, meaning they can use discretion within those ranges depending on information they get from the trainer about how the drug became introduced to the horse — i.e., environmental contamination. There is no “mitigating circumstances” language at the end of the penalties outlined for owners in this circumstance.

Attorney Clark Brewster maintains however that the phrase “shall apply” when referring to the disqualification and loss of purse for owners is legally ambiguous. While lay people understand “shall” and “must” to be the same, Brewster points out that there is some variation in interpretation of the two words in legal settings. Brewster argues that stewards should take mitigating circumstances — like whether the drug was intended to advance performance — into account when they make their eventual decision.

Read more at the Louisville Courier-Journal

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THA’s Alan Foreman Joins All-Baffert Controversy Writers’ Room

Normally, the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland aims to touch on a wide variety of industry issues every week. But there was only one story worth discussing this week, so the writers broke down every angle of the explosive controversy surrounding Bob Baffert and the failed drug test of GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit. They also welcomed Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association Chairman and CEO and prominent industry lawyer Alan Foreman as the Green Group Guest of the Week to talk about what happens now for Baffert from a legal standpoint.

“I think it's important for people to understand that there are two layers here,” Foreman said about the fallout of this week. “This is a state regulatory matter and the regulation is done by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. What Churchill Downs did [banning Baffert from the entry box] was more of a public relations stand to protect the Kentucky Derby brand that they covet. Tracks have the common law right to exclude anyone they want, but when you're dealing with licensees, it isn't as broadly based as you would think it is. There's quite a body of law with respect to the exclusion of licensees and what should be appropriate circumstances. The question here legally would be if Bob Baffert and his team wanted to challenge it, whether Churchill Downs really has the right to do so under the circumstances. This is a routine medication violation. If they're going to ban Bob Baffert, do you ban every horseman who has some medication violation?”

Asked about the frequent public appearances by Baffert to talk about a situation that's still being litigated, particularly his revelation Tuesday that Medina Spirit was treated with a cream that contained betamethasone, Foreman said, “I don't know what their strategy is. I don't know if this is what Bob wanted to do or if he was under advice to do it. The information that came out [Tuesday] changes the whole landscape. The first thing that you do if you're a trainer and you're notified of a positive test, is ask your personnel and veterinarian, do we have betamethasone in the barn? You would know that fairly quickly, you wouldn't know it 48 to 96 hours after the fact. You certainly wouldn't go on television and say, 'I don't use the stuff. We don't have it in the barn. I don't know how it got there. It's everybody else's fault.' That's basic stuff. So the strategy makes no sense to me and I certainly wouldn't counsel my clients that way.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, the Minnesota Racehorse Engagement Project and new sponsor Legacy Bloodstock, the writers called out the decisions and behavior that led to the embarrassment this past week has brought racing, debated what can be done now and reacted to the decision to allow Medina Spirit's entry in the Preakness. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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Show Us The Paper, Bob: Records To Back Up Baffert’s Story Remain A Matter Of Trust

The number of people inclined to nod along when Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert says, “Just trust me,” is getting smaller and smaller these days. First there was Justify, then Charlatan/Gamine, then Merneith, then Gamine again, and now Medina Spirit – five drug violations in the past year and six in recent memory. This time, Baffert told media on Sunday, he was getting out in front of the issue, not waiting for a split sample test came back positive before announcing that his horse had failed a post-race test. He has since told mainstream media that he didn't want to repeat his mistakes in the Justify case, where he and the California Horse Racing Board were widely criticized for keeping the colt's test for scopolamine a secret until the New York Times reported on it months later.

The advantage of being transparent about something like this is that you can control the narrative, and since the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission isn't permitted to discuss a positive before a split sample test and a ruling, Baffert and his legal team have arguably been able to do just that. Baffert has made quite the media tour since Sunday morning, appearing on CBS, Fox News, and elsewhere to tell his side of the story, which seemed to mostly amount to 'I don't know what happened but testing is too strict.'

When Baffert's public stance evolved from 'I didn't do it' to 'Ok, I did it, but it was a mistake,' there was ample opportunity to keep a strong public front. On Tuesday, a statement distributed via Baffert attorney Craig Robertson blamed the betamethasone positive on Otomax, an anti-fungal cream made for dogs which contains betamethasone. This, Robertson said, was used on dermatitis on Medina Spirit after the Santa Anita Derby daily until the day before the Kentucky Derby.

“As I have stated, my investigation is continuing and we do not know for sure if this ointment was the cause of the test results, or if the test results are even accurate, as they have yet to be confirmed by the split sample,” read Baffert's Tuesday statement. “However, again, I have been told that a finding of a small amount, such as 21 picograms, could be consistent with application of this type of ointment. I intend to continue to investigate and I will continue to be transparent.”

So, be transparent.

The beautiful thing about the administration of a prescription therapeutic drug in either California or Kentucky is that it should leave quite a paper trail. First, there would be the prescription itself, which would appear on the box the ointment container came in (the same box that lists betamethasone as an ingredient) or possibly the tube itself (which also lists the ointment's ingredients). The prescription would include a date, instructions for use, and the veterinarian's name. Then, administration of a prescription to a horse in California should trigger a daily treatment report to the California Horse Racing Board. Treatment of a Derby horse in Kentucky would also trigger a daily treatment report, given to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. The prescribing veterinarian would also have a record of dispensing the medication – probably more than once, as it comes in a small container intended for dogs – alongside a diagnosis and dates.

Unlike other types of records, veterinary records that are provided in the course of reporting to the state racing commissions do not become subject to public records requests. In general terms, veterinary records are owned by the owner or manager of the animal, not the veterinarian, clinic, or any third party. So Kentucky and California cannot release what records they have (or don't have) about this lengthy prescription treatment, but Baffert could. Likewise, he could authorize the release of his veterinarian's records. In fact, he was asked during Sunday's news conference whether he planned to release his records and his response was that he intended to release them to the Kentucky commission.

When this reporter asked whether there were treatment reports submitted to the CHRB for Otomax, Robertson responded with the following: “I do not know. As you can imagine I have had my hands full. What I do have are the vet records showing the treatment.”

When asked whether Baffert intended to provide evidence of the vet's prescription of Otomax, Robertson replied “We have those vet records and have provided them to Pimlico.”

While it's certainly understandable that Baffert doesn't want the general public, with its lack of veterinary knowledge, rifling through his horse's medical history, he's the one who started this.

When asked whether the prescribing veterinarian, who so far Baffert has declined to name, had a rationale for choosing Otomax as a treatment for skin disease over other treatments that don't contain betamethasone, Robertson said he didn't know.

A photo provided with Tuesday's statement showed an image of a dark bay horse's right hindquarter, dotted with areas of skin irritation characteristic of the dermatitis described by Baffert. What wasn't specified in the statement was the date the photo was taken; since it was provided as evidence of a condition the horse was treated for from around the April 3 Santa Anita Derby until the day before the May 1 Kentucky Derby, one may assume it was intended to show the condition as it appeared during that timeframe. However, metadata on the image indicates it was taken with an iPhone around 7 a.m. on May 11. If Baffert's veterinarian had been made available to the press and the public, it would be logical to ask why four weeks' worth of prescription treatment had apparently not resolved the issue, which was also visible in images and video of the horse taken at Pimlico Wednesday morning.

A follow-up question asking Robertson about the timing of the image was not answered.

As a reporter, I can appreciate any subject's attempts to be transparent – it's supposed to make my job easier. But true transparency, particularly from someone who hasn't always provided it, means more than just “trust me.”

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